Who are the top ten Greatest Middleweights ever, in order, and in your opinion?

So nobody has LaMotta even in the top 10?He was voted the 5th best MW in history by The Ring or something I think,he deserves a ranking altough he didn't have a long reign.

 

I'll gladly admit I overrate the NP Jack Dempsey (hell, he shouldn't even rate as a MW since he was always always weighing in as a welter). The always glowing reviews of his skill and prowess of the time speak of a fighter who was ahead of his era in terms of skill including utilizing the jab, movement, and his ring generalship with good power in either hand to boot. Of his 3 losses, one was from an illegal backhand and the other two were against greats once he was weakened by TB (going 13 against Fitzsimmons, for a former lightweight champion dying of a disease, is an incredible feat).

Combine them, and it's enough for me to drink the Kool-Aid on NP Jack Dempsey. :!:

 

#1. Marvin Hagler
#2. Ray Robinson
#3. Harry Greb
#4. Carlos Monzon
#5. Bernard Hopkins
#6. Charley Burley
#7. Stanley Ketchel
#8. Jake LaMotta
#9. Holman Williams
#10. Roy Jones Jr

 

My atg lists change all the time, im very inconsistent and some things mean more to me on some days than others, somedays ill have greb up top then I think **** him havnt even seen him fight.

Ill do 10 but wont put them in any order just for my own peice of mind.

Hagler, Greb, Monzon, Hopkins, Robinson, (happy with this first five to be in the top 5), Walker, Fitz, Burley, Tiger, Ketchel.

As for a H2H argument, Id pick an 160lb Roy Jones Jr to out point them all over 12 rounds.

 

Monzon
Greb
Robinson
Hagler
Hopkins
Fitzsimmons
Walker
Ketchel
Burley

 

The Nonpareil Jack Dempsey was dieing of TB when he lost to Fritz.

Sometimes one has to go with the record.

And one must remember in the Bare Knuckle and the early days of glove fighting, the fighters were often fighting for a smaller purse and a large side bet, that their backers brought. So, if you had no backers, there was no fight.
Sometimes there were just purses.
1892 Names you would know and purses.

Jan. 2. 1892.
Peter Mahler’s backers deposit $5,000 with a newspaper and Challenges John L. Sullivan for $10,000 a side and the championship

March 2, 1992 Fitz wins vs Mahler 12 rounds. Winner got $9,000 the loser Peter Mahler got $1,000 (There was no Light heavy Champ until 1903, when Old man Fitz was third champ that year and held it for two years.)

Sullivan vs Corbett $10,00 a side and a purse of $25,000
Peter Jackson beats Slaven purse $10,000
Joe Choynski (perhaps the best 168 pound fighter of all time) beats George Godfrey purse $10,000
Two guys fought an 80 round draw for a purse of $1,500.
Joe Goddad beats Peter Mahler in third, purse of $7,500, $1000 to the loser.
Jim Hall and Fitz signs for a fight with $40,000, $2,500 to the loser.
So the winner of the Middleweight Championship made more than the winner of the Heavyweight Championship. That is how Good Fitz was.

Now you see why I have to rate the old timers high. They were highly rated in their day.


And I can't put Robinson into the top 5, was there and Carmine Bassilio gave him two great fights, and he lost to Fulmer...Now Fulmer was one of my men then, too.

Robinson dodged Bureley even admitted it. That though was earlier at Welter.


1. Monzon dodged Validez for a few years and had two great fights with him.
2. NP Jack Dempsey 7 years Champ lost while dieing of TB.

3.Fitzsimmons for 6 years, no Lt. Heavy then… when being out boxed by Corbett, beat him.
4. Greb , very good at higher weights.
5.Hagler, if he’d worn hair you could see he was slipping Leonard’s punches on the top of his head, so those didn’t count. Try it sometime, watch that fight and imagine he had hair.


6. Walker spent too little time as Champ at Middle, though could beat any one on a given night.

7. Tommy Ryan 10 years Champ.

8. Robinson past his prime. I cried when Carmine beat him the first time.
9. Stanley Ketchel died too young. A wild man like Greb.
10. Sam Langford would have been a hand full for anyone on the list.



11.Hopkins, and Hopkins would have had lessons on dirty from Greb and Ketchel.




12&13 either way….Holman Williams beat Burley.....I think after Burley’s prime. Like Charles at Lt. Heavy no one wanted to fight Burly except Holman.
14. Dick Tiger, could be beaten by a slick hit and run boxer. I liked Tiger too. His hyping the fight was. “I think it will be an interesting fight.”
15. Cerdan died before rematch. Lost fight vs Lamotta with bad shoulder.

This is dammed tough. But I hope the money in the old time Purses shows how good, Fitz was and Dempsey was better except for TB. Dempsey was really that great.
The purses was in gold and a working man with a skill like a carpenter made $3.00 a day, in a six day week of 12 hours a day.

 

Off the top of my head would be something like this

Monzon
Robinson
Greb
Hagler
Hopkins
Walker
Jones
Burley
Fullmer
La Motta

 

Are you just not taking into account that Robinson was around 37-38 years old and clearly past his prime in those fights?